Reviews & Ratings for
The Girl in the Bikini More at IMDbPro »Manina, la fille sans voiles (original title)

15 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
The English censors felt compelled to cut 29 of the 86 minutes of this film…, 19 July 2005

Author: ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Bardot was the newly discovered teenager, the rebel against strict bourgeois upbringing, the woman who takes her pleasure with whom she chooses, and follows her own inclinations and desires…

By the time Bardot's second film, "Manina, la fille sans voile" was released in 1952, the blushing teenager had fallen by the wayside; instead there emerged a brave, wilder girl, liberated from the repressed rules of society…

The eroticism displayed by Bardot throughout this film was undeniably challenging, though the fashions may seem rather absolute today…

The impact she made may be measured by the fact that English censors felt compelled to cut 29 of the 86 minutes of this film…

13 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
a promise for things to come, 2 August 2003

Author: Wout Visser (wrvisser-leusden-nl) from Leusden, Holland

Yes, 18 year old Brigitte Bardot in her bikini really makes this film live on !

However, the most lasting part of the 'Manina'-shooting is a photo. It shows Brigitte naked on her belly, lying on a beach. Torso on the sand, legs in the water. Every BB-addict surely knows it, because it is the only shot showing young Bardot naked (nudity shots from the fifties are very rare anyway). Apart from the nudity this photo also is famous for its magnificent composition. BB's hooked right leg makes the picture alive, while the breaking waves make it move.

Did you know Brigitte's wealthy father was outraged after seeing 'Manina'? He sued the film company for showing his daughter indecently (and lost the case).

Another side of 'Manina': Brigitte is still very young, and her acting is downright terrible. Later on future husband Roger Vadim teaches Brigitte, that nudity alone is not enough to make it in the movies. So Brigitte progresses, reaching her peak in the second half of the fifties. Then she is at her best while playing light comedies.

As I said, back in 1952 BB's acting does not live up to the dream she tries to create. This bad acting gives 'Manina' a charm of its own, I think, because we know now what came afterwards.

11 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Mostly in bikinis!, 8 July 2003

Author: Wolfi-10 from Gillett PA USA

Brigitte Bardot - young - fresh - sweet - and mostly in bikinis!

Oh yes, there was a story line too - she the daughter of a lighthouse keeper, and two guys who showed up for the summer. It was hardly the story that made BB famous, but the intense sensuality she radiated in this black-and-white movie, combined with a dear disposition - a winning combination that she did not quite reach again in all her later flicks.

A great gal!

7 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Semi-Interesting with Beautiful Young Bardot!, 22 December 2004

Author: shepardjessica-1 from United States

Admittedly, Miss Bardot had not yet honed her acting skills, but what an enchanting creature, even at this young age (her 2nd film, I believe). Her dancing work as a teenager must have helped her incredible physique - perfectly proportioned with a nice voice, screen presence and youthful spirit. She would develop over the years (talent), but his film has an appropriate soundtrack and beautiful b/w cinematography.

A 5 out of 10. Best performance = Bardot. Beautiful locale off island with nice forest setting hidden from a rocky beach (what a great place to film).

1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Venus raising from the sea, 10 October 2010
Author: dbdumonteil

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The uncut version (about 85 min)is today harmless (was it so risqué in 1952?);Anywway,BB only appears at the 46th minute and the viewer has got to be patient :the first sequence featuring her character is a clumsy flashback when she was 13,so her part was given to a kid .

This is BB's second movie (after "Le Trou Normand" )and the first time she had played the lead.As for Willy Rozier ,the director,he was trashed by everybody ,the old wave and the new one ;his filmography features such "works" as "Le Bagnard" ,"56 Rue Pigalle" or " Les Amants Maudits" the titles speak for themselves .

"Manina" is probably ,among his works I had the opportunity to see ,the most pleasant;what's definitely lacking is color ;both the Corsican landscapes and BB in bikini deserve it !Her co-star -whose presence on screen is twice as long as hers-Jean-François Calvé is particularly bland if athletic ;after his part in "Marguerite De La Nuit" in which he played opposite Michèle Morgan ,he fell into oblivion (the last time I saw him was in the MTV "Mathilde" (1967))

There are two treasures in the movie :the first one is Trolius(?)'s lost amphoras supposedly full of gold sesterces!The second one is that girl with Un Petit Je Ne Sais Quoi.The villain (Howard Vernon, who looked the part)covets both.The opening sequence takes place in an university where the history professor gives a stodgy lecture on students busing doing other things :the young hero tells the erudite he found an amphora five years ago (the sequence featuring thirteen-year-old Manina)and that might be the place where ....

BB made movies which were worse than this one ;she shows spontaneity -one of her most salutary qualities as an actress-Little did they know at the time that she would become France's greatest sex symbol of all time.

NB:BB sings but she is dubbed and it is atrocious ;she could sing ,she made records in the sixties (songs often written by Serge Gainsbourg,that is to say the best material)so why didn't they let her do her singing?

2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
If it wasn't for a very young Brigitte Bardot, I doubt if this one would have ever made it to DVD., 20 September 2010

Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

Note: The DVD has significant sound issues at about the 25 minute marks--sounding almost like someone crunching potato chips next to a microphone! Why this occurred and why it was allowed to remain like this on the DVD is a puzzler.

The story involves a college student following a possible treasure. It seems that years earlier he'd actually gotten a clue as to the treasure but only connected the clue to treasure recently. Once at the island where the treasure might lie, the young man finds the important treasure--sexy Brigitte!

If Brigitte Bardot had not been in this film, I doubt if it would have ever made it to DVD. It's not it's a bad film--it just isn't all that good a film. Plus, it is a bit dull up until the very good ending. However, a young Bardot DOES star in the film and, as the title character, she runs around in a bikini--and is quite stunning. But she really is NOT the star of the film--just a gorgeous woman showing off her beautiful figure. But, this is the only reason anyone would want to see this listless tale...just d to ogle Bardot and to see her in one of her earliest roles. As for me, however, the beautiful Bardot was a tad unsettling...as I have two daughters the same age she was in the film! Yikes!

Typically Workman-like Effort from Rozier, 8 March 2012
Author: David Le Sage from Australia

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This film is typical of Rozier's work: adequate but uninspiring cinematography, wooden acting, lack of characterisation and B-film plot. All of this is a shame as the film's premise had some potential.

The island location and diving scenes deserved much better cinematography. Likewise, the premise of a search for a mythological treasure and the treachery of the boat's crew could have made this a great "boy's own" adventure film. Instead, the entire work is hackneyed and marred by the awkward flash-back sequence and obviously lack of funding.

Of course, the reason that this film is well-known at all today is because it marks one of the earliest appearances of Brigitte Bardot. Although she only appears late in the film, she is noteworthy in the sense that she is the first "modern" woman to appear on the screen: with her long blonde hair and body confidence, she marks an abrupt change from the prim actresses who preceded her.

Overall, though, this film is hack work. It is inoffensive but truly does waste a potentially interesting premise due to its poor direction and under-developed script.

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